Winter Wonderland
by Areyon
Summary: Rukia left the reaper world for a vacation but gets a visit from an unexpected person.  Lemon in future chapter. Story is fan based, no profit.


**[DISCLAIMER] I do not own nor have I contributed to the making of Bleach. The stories I write that are tied to the idea/ core concept of Bleach are purely fan based. There is no value I get out of my writing EXCEPT making my readers happy. I get no form of payment for the writing I do.**

A blanket of white engulfed the realm of the living on a small island off the eastern coast of Japan. This island was much like the shinigami world itself. As far as the use of technology went, it was very minimal and the majority of the people who lived within the nearly only 25 square mile island stuck to living in the ways of traditional Japanese customs. The islanders grew their own food, they lived in wooden homes plastered with fairly thin white paper for walls, they found entertainment in puppet and frame by frame movies...it was a peaceful, untouched land away from the world. However, there was one who just didn't seem to match the many alike faces of the people on the island.

Alone at a cliff, over looking a rice field, was a face that was like any other on the island but what set the tiny female apart was the faint color of her purple hues. Taking in a lung full of cold, winter air the lass held her breath for a moment before exhaling a cloud of white, a simple sigh of enjoying her vacation away from her death dealing duties. She wasn't alive long enough during her human life to even know what time she had come from but she would like to think that she belonged to a time as peaceful as the island she had chosen for a get away. Sadly, the day was drawing to a close though, it was about time to head back in with the sun fading at the edge of the horizon.

Shifting in her wooden sandles, Rukia shuffled her way towards the village of people gathered in the lower part of the cliff that separated themselves from the rice field. Not too far ahead of her the others were heading home as well, there wasn't much to do during the winter days besides explore and find roots. Following behind the little crowd, Rukia was the last person to disappear behind the paper thin wall she was using as temporary home. Once inside she shook herself off of the snow she had accumulated on her feet before slipping off her sandles then walking further into the home. Just as she took a step onto the nicely laid bamboo floor a chill ran down her spine, something wasn't right but...

"I didn't leave that there..." was all the female could muster before shifting her head left and right to figure out who it was that had shifted her pot of tea from one end of the table to the other. Her hand instantly went to her hip, a sorry attempt to grab at a sword that wasn't there. She cursed silently, a mistake it was to leave her blade back at home. Her action hadn't gone unnoticed though, whoever had moved her tea had also seen her display of stupidity.

"Forgot something?" a calm, smooth voice replied from behind her. Rukia, startled, jumped away from the voice and stumbled onto the bamboo matting of the living room. The moment the male had spoken she knew exactly who it was and when she knew she felt even more silly than she would have liked.

"N-Ni-sama?" she questioned and turned her head to look back at him. There was a look of disgust in face, causing Rukia to rush back towards her feet and give him a proper bow of greeting and respect. He didn't say anything about it, instead questioned on another topic.

"I thought you would be back home by now," Byakuya stated calmly and walked past her to the pot of tea. Taking a seat at the knee high table, he took a second cup and place it down onto the table to pour another cup of tea for his silly sister. "Come drink some tea and warm up, its freezing out there."

"H-Hai," she replied and turned to take a seat across from him. For all the years she had known him she had always been timid and shy around him but she wasn't sure why. Her head stayed down as Byakuya pushed the cup towards her. Her slender arm extended out to grip the warm cup, bringing the contents to her lips she took a sip and let the hot drink flow down her throat. How she enjoyed her brother's tea, it was nothing like his horrible cooking. The one and only time she ever ate something he cooked she was sick for weeks but his tea was always the best out of the living and dead. "T-Thank you..." Rukia responded after she came back to her senses and then placed her empty cup of tea on the table.

A soft smile formed the cold face of Byakuya. He poured yet another cup for her but as her hand came down to pick up the cup his own came towards her which made her freeze in her tracks. Her head at this point was still looking down, she rarely ever made eye contact with him. She soon felt the gentle touch of his hand under her chin, lifting it softly she found her purple hues staring into his own twin pools of black. Heat rushed into her face causing her cheeks to deepen into pinkish color, Byakuya instantly noticed and chuckled softly. "You don't have to call me Ni-sama anymore, I already told you this. I also missed you...you're company, I hope you mind that I came here."

His hand remained under her chin for a moment longer before he pulled his hand away and placed it at his side once more. Rukia instantly turned her face away, staring into an empty spot beside her. "It's okay ni-" she stopped and corrected herself. "Please stay with me as long as you like." Placing both her hands at her side she pushed herself up to her feet. Daringly she raised her eyes to look towards Byakuya, she could see the calm, reserved look back on his face. "I'm going to head to bed, it's been a long day."

The lass turned silently and made her way to a sliding door to get to her room. The idea of being in the same house as her brother was enough to make her head spin but being in the same room was intoxicating for one simple reason. As much as she looked up to him as a brother she never could see him in that light. From the moment she first met him back at the academy she felt her heart flutter but only to realize that he was the widow of her sister who had passed back in the realm of the living. At first she thought the feeling would past but as time went by the feeling only grew stronger. Having him here and now was a dream come true but she knew she had to keep boundaries, she was a girl who had no status in the world and he was basically a prince while she the ugly step-sister he brought into his life. Even having such a horrible role in his life she gladly accepted the position if it meant she'd always be there with him.

"Rukia..." a voice said softly against her ear. The female released a gasp as she felt two hands wrap around her waist softly and her head turned to look at the one she had called a brother. What the hell was he doing?

"N-Ni..." she started off but silenced herself. The term she called him so often was practically his name at this point since she had literally only called him that since the day she was part of his family. Closing her eyes she turned her head down to her feet and curled up a little in the arms of Byakuya.

Seeing her recoil the male frowned, he shifted from behind her and appeared in front of her gripping her hands softly in his own. "Please don't pull away from me. I..." he stopped for a moment and leaned closer to Rukia who still had her eyes close. His face was barely an inch from her before he finished his statement. "I love you Rukia."

Her eyes immediately turned to look up when she heard those 3 simple words, even felt the whisper of it against her lips. But what did mean by 'love?' Oh, he cleared up that statement quick too. The moment her eyes made contact with his, he searched her confused eyes just once before clashing his lips against her own lightly. His hands left her own and found themselves directly at her waist, pulling her close into his own body.

His heart raced having her finally. After all the years he had been with her he had watched her change from a confused, almost teen-like child into the courageous, fearless shinigami she was today. But no matter what she had always been beautiful in his eyes, after all this was Hisana's sister! Unlike Hisana, Rukia had qualities that Hisana didn't (and vise versa), which is what drew Byakuya so much closer to her. He tried to put her in a sister status but that didn't last very long after the years had passed and he got to know the woman he thought was nothing more than a foolish girl.

He slowly pulled back from the kiss. His eyes searching her own once again that was still in deep confusion but seemed to better understand the limits he wanted to break. Keeping one hand around her waist , he placed the other on her cheek and waited for some response. But what he got was unexpected.

**[AUTHORS NOTE] I had to put a pause on putting up the next chapter with this one, I need to still edit the other one a bit. I should have it up soon if it isn't already up. There will be a maximum of 4 chapters to this story, if it could even be called a story. Anyways, read and review and enjoy more to come. Thanks for reading!**


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